The Trust was formed in 1997 to take on the long-term management and maintenance responsibilities of the Chatham Maritime Estate, at the time one of the major urban regeneration sites in the country. Chatham Maritime Trust is a registered charity (no 1055710) and a company limited by guarantee. The Trust has four member organisations: Medway Council, HCA now known as Homes England and the Estate’s two occupier associations: St Mary’s Island Residents Association Ltd (residential) and South Maritime Residents Ltd (non-residential).

The member organisations each have rights of nomination for Trustee appointments (the HCA one and the others two each) and the Trustee Board typically also includes four or five “Independent Trustees” who are usually local professionals with relevant skills.

The Trust owns significant parts of the Chatham Maritime Estate, and acquires further sites as development completes. Eventually the Trust will own virtually all of the public domain of the Estate.

The Trust receives funding for maintenance of the Estate from three areas: South Maritime service charges, St Mary’s Island rentcharges and from the Trust’s own endowment funds. The maintenance expenditure at Chatham Maritime is in the order of a million pounds a year, and the Trust anticipates remaining as estate owner and manager at Chatham Maritime well into the 2100s.

Chatham Maritime Trust also plays a role in supporting the growing community at Chatham Maritime and community activities in the Medway Towns generally. The Trust does this through its Community Fund which it uses to promote events, and to sponsor or support community groups.